MAI KHAO, PHUKET: The construction firm building a new bridge to Phuket has released computer generated images of what the project will look like upon completion.

Project engineer Dr Phattanapong Thonsuk of project contractor Italian-Thai Development Co said the old Sarasin Bridge has suffered from years of saltwater corrosion and wear and is being replaced following concerns by the Highway Department about its structural integrity.

The original bridge, completed in 1967, was named after Pote Sarasin, who served as head of the now-defunct National Development Ministry.

Construction conglomerate Italian-Thai built not only the original Sarasin Bridge, but also its sister span the Thepkrasattri Bridge.

Although the official name of the project is ‘Sarasin 2,’ the replacement bridge will likely get a new name.

The name will possibly be decided through a public vote like the baby panda ‘Lin Hui’ born in Chiang Mai last year, Dr Phattanapong said.

Dr Phattanapong said his preferred name for the new span is ‘Srisoonthorn Bridge,’ after Phuket’s beloved heroine Thao Thep Srisoonthorn.

The name would once again ‘pair’ the two heroines by having one bridge named after each, he said.

CREDIT : phuketgazette.net

Bangkok. Five years on from the tsunami that battered Asia’s shores, experts fear a new generation of coastal dwellers will be  ill-prepared to face another giant wave as memories fade.

While sound alert systems have now been developed in many countries to forewarn governments of impending danger, getting that message out to seaside communities, and to children in particular, remains a challenge, they say.

The tidal wave that swept in on December 26, 2004 killed around 220,000 people and still haunts the beaches and coastal villages of the 12 countries devastated by the worst natural catastrophe to hit the region in decades.

But experts and officials fear that as time goes  on and fear of the sea recedes, so too will the memory of what to do if another similar disaster strikes.

“Five years on, tsunami awareness is still very high. I would not be able  to tell [if it will remain so] five or ten years from now,” said Sanny Ramos Jegillos, regional crisis prevention director for the United Nations  Development Program.

“The reason it is difficult is that tsunamis historically don’t occur in  the same place within one or two generations,” he explained. “The last tsunami  in Sumatra before 2004 was in 1907 — that’s almost one hundred years and  that’s a long time for children to remember.” Since the Asian Tsunami hit five years ago, governments have made massive  efforts and poured huge sums of money into improving the region’s  preparedness.

India spent $32 million on a tsunami warning system designed to  detect all earthquakes above a magnitude of six on the Richter scale in the  Indian Ocean, apparently within 20 minutes.

Sri Lanka is ready to send SMS warning alerts to mobile phones in the event  of a disaster, while Thailand has set up 103 towers equipped with loudspeakers  along the coast and has increased its radio reach in the six provinces  bordering the Andaman Sea.

But educating the population to encourage them to react efficiently and  without panic in the event of another tsunami is complicated, said Al Panico,  head of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent  societies’ (IFRC) tsunami recovery unit.

“In the alert system, messages get to governments when a disaster is  imminent. Getting it to the people who need to act … to the people who need to  protect themselves, that’s where there is a gap,” he said.

Malaysia, hit relatively lightly in 2004 with a death toll of 68, has 17 earthquake monitoring stations. But its authorities say work among the youth is  needed.

“Since tsunamis are rare and when a tsunami occurs time is limited for  evacuation, public education and awareness among the population at risk is necessary,” said Yap Kok Seng, head of Malaysia’s meteorological department.

Indonesia, which registered three quarters of all deaths that resulted from  the tsunami, is lagging behind in its efforts.

“Many Indonesians are still clueless about tsunami disaster mitigation,” said Danny Hilman Natawidjaja, an earthquake expert with the Indonesia  Institute of Sciences.

“The drills from the Disaster Management Agency are yet to be effective.  They have a lot to learn.” The country’s Disaster Management Agency said about ten tsunami preparedness drills have been carried out since 2004 but “there is still a  considerable amount of delay time in the tsunami early warning system,”  Natawidjaja said.

The key, say experts, will be to teach the subject in schools.

On December 26, 2004, on the southern tourist island of Phuket in Thailand, a  ten-year-old British girl, Tilly Smith, saved one hundred lives when she used  her knowledge of tsunamis from a recent geography lesson to clear the beach.

Experts hope this idea carries into Asia’s schools.

AFP